Borderless Transnational Corporations are Ultimate Source of international Inequality, Demise of Democracy

A few days ago I wrote a post decrying the 56 corporations that avoided paying taxes altogether. Shortly after writing that post, Common Dreams blogger Patti Lynn wrote a post underscoring that these corporations are part of a small group of multi-national enterprises whose allegiance is not to any country or any form of government— only to themselves and to profits. And in a series of paragraphs undertake heading “Abandoning the Common Good” she describes the impact of our government’s policy that kowtows to the demands of these companies:

It’s becoming more and more clear how our current economic and political system is failing to provide, take care of, and manage the resources and services we all need. Our aging water infrastructure is in dire need of public reinvestment. Public schools struggle mightily around the country.And in most places in the U.S. public transportation is not equitable, in need of major reinvestment, or doesn’t even exist.

Who bears the brunt of these failures? Well, certainly not super wealthy corporate and mostly white CEOs being driven in limos stocked with bottled water. Or celebrities and hedge fund managers bribing college coaches to get their children into Ivy League and other prestige-bestowing schools.

It’s the mostly Black folks in Flint and Detroit whose water is poisoned or shut off who are experiencing these systemic failures to the greatest degree. It’s people who rely on public transportation to get them to their hourly wage jobs—and who get docked pay or fired if they come in late because of a broken-down subway. It’s low-income families who do the best they can by their kids in resource-starved public K-12 schools.

Ms. Lynn goes on to note that “taxing the rich” will only get us part of the way toward our goal: we need to also examine the tax policies we have in place for these multi-national corporations. And, as the third paragraph below emphasizes, the recent tax laws are only making things worse:

But taxing the ultra-wealthy is only addressing half the solution. We must also apply the same scrutiny to corporations and enact policies that ensure corporations pay what they owe in taxes (not to mention what they owe in externalized costs). Sen. Warren’s new proposal is a welcome policy proposal in that direction.

The argument against doing so is that the U.S. already has too high of a corporate tax rate, and if we actually make corporations pay their fair share, more of them will move their headquarters somewhere else with lenient tax laws, offshore their profits, and/or take jobs elsewhere.

But the truth is, without effective regulation and enforcement, transnational corporations will keep gaming the system, no matter what. Today, few corporations paythe actual tax rate, which is now at 21 percent, down from 35 thanks to the 2017 law…

That’s why we need to take the system back. We need transformative, deep-seated changes where corporations do not get to write the rules and where people and our government hold them accountable.

This is the right time for this vision and demand for change. People across the political spectrum are outraged at our rigged system that is leaving them behind. To unrig the system we need to not only tax the ultra-wealthy. We also need to tax and hold accountable the driving force behind their wealth and our nation’s overall income inequality: transnational corporations.

If we want to provide the schools children needs, the clean air and water we all need, and the job security that makes for a strong democracy we need to reverse the actions of the past several months.